Help!(?)

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NyxPhrixus
NyxPhrixus Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been working out, drinking enough water, and eating well for almost a month now and have only lost 1lb! Am I not eating enough of x, y, z or not eating clean enough? I know a body is built in the kitchen first and haven't been consuming food, especially carbs three hours before bed. I understand that a person can stack on some muscle before weight loss, but I'm starting to get frustrated! I'm sticking to it, but would like some input.

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  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Eating "well", which I assume means making "healthier" choices, is good, and so is drinking water and exercising. All great for your health. But unless you eat less calories than you burn, weight loss is nto happening. You can get/stay overweight on a "perfect" lifestyle.
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
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    You should eat less to lose weight. Eating better makes no difference.
  • NyxPhrixus
    NyxPhrixus Posts: 17 Member
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    On average I have been eating around 1,200- 1,300 calories a day, keeping around 70 carbs, drinking 9- 11 glasses of water, the average workout is -500 calories, burning the average 2,500 cals a week.
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
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    NyxPhrixus wrote: »
    On average I have been eating around 1,200- 1,300 calories a day, keeping around 70 carbs, drinking 9- 11 glasses of water, the average workout is -500 calories, burning the average 2,500 cals a week.


    Do you weigh your food with a food scale? (Not cups - they are for liquids). Do you weigh EVERYTHING? that includes sauces and the milk in your coffee.

    Also, your burn number could be overestimated. It's generally best to only eat back 50%-75% of calories burned.

    Very small inaccuracies add up quickly over a weeks time. Just 100 over a day can add up to 700 over in a week.
  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
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    2 options
    You are under estimating how much you ate eating
    Or you have a medical problem that's causing you to not lose weight
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I second Leana088’s advice. I took a look through your food diary, and I do see a few solid foods measured in cups, and peanut butter measured in teaspoons. You would be surprised just how little peanut butter is an actual teaspoon (I know I was :cry:). I expect that weighing your food, and not eating back all of your exercise calories, would really help ensure you’re not inadvertently eating back your deficit.

    I also see in your profile that you have lost lots of weight until now - congratulations!! You’re well on your way, just tighten up your logging and be patient. Things should start lining up :smile: Best of luck!
  • NyxPhrixus
    NyxPhrixus Posts: 17 Member
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    I log everything that passes the lips with cups now, but a scale would help! I don't really use too many sauces, besides curry and salad dressings, and coffee I take black only. I do the "sitting at a desk job" calorie guidelines, but usually on my feet 4 days out of the week. I only count the time at the gym spent and long walks that are considered exercise. Should I cut my gym calories in half?
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    edited April 2015
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    NyxPhrixus wrote: »
    I log everything that passes the lips with cups now, but a scale would help! I don't really use too many sauces, besides curry and salad dressings, and coffee I take black only. I do the "sitting at a desk job" calorie guidelines, but usually on my feet 4 days out of the week. I only count the time at the gym spent and long walks that are considered exercise. Should I cut my gym calories in half?

    Well, most people only eat back half of their exercise calories, just because they’re normally overestimated.

    I find my food scale to be a really helpful tool, especially for calorie-dense foods like nuts, nut butters, avocado, rice, pasta, etc. It really helps make sure you maintain a deficit, especially as you get closer to your goal and the rate of loss is lower because there isn’t as much left to lose. You can get one at Walmart, amazon, etc.

    Don’t get too frustrated - remember that weight loss is not linear, and it goes up and down with water weight and all that. Your dedication and patience will pay off! :smile:
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
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    NyxPhrixus wrote: »
    I log everything that passes the lips with cups now, but a scale would help! I don't really use too many sauces, besides curry and salad dressings, and coffee I take black only. I do the "sitting at a desk job" calorie guidelines, but usually on my feet 4 days out of the week. I only count the time at the gym spent and long walks that are considered exercise. Should I cut my gym calories in half?

    Cups are very inaccurate for solids. And yes. Try eating only half your exercise calories back.
  • NyxPhrixus
    NyxPhrixus Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't usually eat any of my work out calories back and keep to 1,200-1,300 a day. I have had a few exception days where I ate more. (One being yesterday and my first week)

    I will definitely be picking up a scale this weekend! Thank you!
  • chrisellington
    chrisellington Posts: 2 Member
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    How frustrating!! I know it can be crazy making to work so diligently and not see the results on the scale.

    Myself, I've really lost interest in my scale weight and am focusing more on body composition.

    Over the past 12 weeks I've reduced my body fat percentage by 3.1 points. That's where the scale comes in handy. I now know that during those 12 weeks, I lost 46 lbs: 13.23 lbs of lean and 32.77 lbs of fat.

    One time when the scale stalled, it turned out that I had GAINED 2.7 lbs of lean mass (yay!!) At the same time I had actually eliminated 2.6 lbs of fat from my body!

    That's progress that couldn't be noticed on just the scale.

    Take heart - wonderful things may be happening inside that you don't even know about!! Google "fat analyzer" and see if you might be able to shed some happy light on your situation.
  • NyxPhrixus
    NyxPhrixus Posts: 17 Member
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    Picked up a kitchen scale this morning! I'm going to start measuring myself a couple times a month to track inches lost/gained. Thank you guys for your input.
  • steffiejoe
    steffiejoe Posts: 313 Member
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    Have you taken your body measurements? For months the scale did not move but I was actually losing inches . I also had a pair of goal pants that I used to track my progress.
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
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    NyxPhrixus wrote: »
    Picked up a kitchen scale this morning! I'm going to start measuring myself a couple times a month to track inches lost/gained. Thank you guys for your input.

    Yay! Good luck! We’re here if you need anything.
  • Sephixteeo
    Sephixteeo Posts: 75 Member
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    Also if you're new to your workout, also expect retention/ swelling while your body adjusts. It can mask losses.

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